Atlanta Drive GC 6, Boston Common Golf 3
THE MODERATOR: We'll welcome Boston Common Golf to the media center here. Not the result you wanted. You get New York next week. I think there's still a mathematical chance. You guys are still in it.
Just talk about how singles went there at the end and maybe a couple turning points in the match.
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think the big turning point was obviously Patrick hit it in close there on the hole that we played, and then they threw the hammer, and I felt like I had to accept it.
I just didn't -- I wanted to at least have a chance to tie that hole and give it a good run with the chip. But then getting those two points and going 4-2 up at that point was obviously a big turning point.
Then Keegan made a great birdie on the next hole, and Hideki hit a great shot into the par-3 and hit a good putt. It just didn't break to the right like we thought.
It was tough. We felt like we played pretty good. We hung in there in the triples, and just disappointed to not get the job done.
Q. For amateur golfers who are watching this, what makes these bunkers so weird and tricky and different than ordinary bunkers?
RORY McILROY: They're super soft. Because there's not a ton of humidity in this building, over the course of the day, most bunkers need watered anyway, and when they're outside and there's humidity they keep their moisture so the sand keeps its structure. But in here over the course of a day in a dry environment like this, the sand just gets drier and drier and finer, and it's almost becomes like your club is trying to get through flour. It's just a different texture.
The one thing is hitting it into a bunker in here is a real hazard. It's tough, as you can see.
It's just so hard. You've got all these short shots, and having to tell yourself to hit it that hard to get it out of that bunker, it's hard to trust that at times.
Q. Being a professional golfer, you're never really in a must-win scenario in a team setting. What's it like being in that environment in the TGL?
KEEGAN BRADLEY: Yeah, it was fun, to be honest with you. We knew we had to go out there and win, and like you said, we never have that feeling. You have that in match play in the singles of the Ryder Cup a little bit, but more than likely it's not coming down to your exact match.
That was fun. We came in here really expecting to win. We got off to a bit of a slow start. We didn't play that great at the beginning, but we picked it up at the end. Some good shots for the boys there on Atlanta to beat us at the end.
Q. Rory and Keegan, four matches in, who's the most surprising person that you've received kind of positive feedback on all this from, and what was it?
RORY McILROY: I don't know. I think people have enjoyed watching it on TV. There's nowhere that I can go that people aren't talking to me about it. I was in Montana at the weekend skiing, and even people coming up to me there saying, oh, we love TGL, we love watching it on Monday and Tuesday nights. It's nice to be out and around and be with the general public and just have random people come up to you and say that they're enjoying it.
KEEGAN BRADLEY: Yeah, same thing. Not really necessarily one specific person, but it's the No. 1 question I get now, not about how was Torrey Pines last week. It's what is it like in the TGL; is it fun. It's definitely everybody's first question they want to know.
Especially people that play a lot of golf in simulators in cities, they love watching us. This is how they play.
Q. Hideki, what has the reaction been like overseas towards TGL?
HIDEKI MATSUYAMA: Obviously I'm not in Japan so I don't know exactly how much impact we have in Japan, but I've been hearing that we have a pretty good viewership back in Japan.
We had a couple close matches we could have won. Just disappointed how I couldn't contribute to the team.
Q. (Question not in English.)
HIDEKI MATSUYAMA: I felt like the bunkers today were a bit different compared to the practice I had previously, and today lost two holes on singles. Very disappointed in how I played today.
Q. (Question not in English.)
HIDEKI MATSUYAMA: I feel like I have to adjust all of my game, so hopefully I have time to do that, and hopefully I get into the team next week.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports